Skip navigation
Site powered by
Latest news:
msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines: GM, Ford, Home Depot among America's shrinking corporate giants

Tiger misses out on wild scramble at Deutsche

Five-way tie at top is largest ever at PGA event, but Woods seven back

Image: TigerAP
Tiger Woods tosses his putter after he finished the second hole in the third round of the Deutsche Bank Championship on Sunday. Woods shot a 1-over 72.

NORTON, Mass. - The Deutsche Bank Championship appeared to belong to Tiger Woods at the start of the week. Now it’s up for grabs for just about everyone except golf’s No. 1 player.

John Rollins set a course record with a 28 on the back nine Sunday, holing out a bunker shot on the 18th hole for an 8-under 63 as the leaders were still warming up on the range. Jason Bohn birdied his last four holes for a 67. Carl Petterson scrambled to a

68. Billy Andrade started and finished with birdies and made 16 pars in between.

And when Olin Browne recovered from an awkward spot in the fairway to save par on the 18th for a 70, he joined the five-way tie atop the leaderboard, the largest logjam going into the final round in 22 years on the PGA Tour.

“We just have to wait until the last few holes to see the way things shake out,” Browne said. “With as many guys as there tied for the lead ... there’s going to be a lot of jockeying for position. The important thing is to catch a rhythm, hit as many quality shots as possible, and if you have a chance on the last couple of holes, take your crack.”

The leaders were at 10-under 203, one shot ahead of Kent Jones (63) and Joey Sindelar (69). Fourteen other players were within four shots of the lead on the TPC of Boston, where birdies and bogeys can happen quickly.

“I’m ready to go right now,” said Andrade, who hasn’t won in five years. “I’m not going to back down. I’m going to go for it tomorrow and I’m going to play exactly the same way I played today, and we’ll see what happens.”

About the only player missing is Woods.

After opening with a 65 to take the lead, Woods again stumbled to a 72 — his second straight round over par — and was seven shots behind.

“I played well the first day. And for some reason ... welcome to golf,” Woods said. “You come out the next day and you just don’t have it. And the last two days, I have not had it.”

Rollins had it, even if he didn’t know it.

Slide show: The Week in Sports Pictures
QUALLS GIPSON
  Oct. 3 - 9
Images from the baseball playoffs, NFL, college football, and more.

He was going nowhere when he jokingly told his caddie to brace himself for a record back nine. Rollins had no idea he would wind up atop the leaderboard.

“I joked with my caddie at the turn, told him he was going to see the best 29 on the back nine,” Rollins said. “I ended up shooting 28. I played great on the back, hit the ball great, made some putts, and here we go.”

The third round started an hour late for television, and it made a huge difference in dry weather that siphoned any moisture out of the greens and made the course play difficult late in the afternoon. Players who teed off before noon were a combined 35 under par. The later starters were a combined 41 over par.


advertisement
Latest golf video
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am - Preview Day
Getty Images
Will Tiger win again?
The Masters is going to be huge for Tiger Woods, but don't expect him to be the player he once was.

Slideshow
Jack Nicklaus
  Top 10 'accessible' golf courses
From California to Florida, these amazing greens are open for anyone to play.

more photos